4 simple strategies to start turning your dreams into reality

I’m in full lockdown again. From being the best student in class, Prague and the Czech Republic are now the worst student. As I write this story, the numbers continue to rise, and it seems like we’re only days away from a full, second lockdown.

This time feels different.

The weather has turned colder, the days have become shorter, and it’s clear that this pandemic is not just going away. I’m afraid we have to get used to living with these ups and downs until there’s a long term solution.

But, as I wrote before quoting Winston Churchill, “in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity”.

While it may be harder the second time around, we can’t sit at home and wait for this pandemic to disappear.

Why not to check-in with our dreams?

No matter why you may have more time at the moment or realize this is the chance to change direction, it’s good to start now.

Many other people may have given up on their dreams and have settled living their lives. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t have fun or excitement in their lives. It just means that they buried the big ideas in the closet and are satisfied with what they have.

If that’s not you, read on.

A dream will always remain a dream unless you have a clear vision and plan how you want to accomplish your dream. No dream has ever been realized without actually doing it.

Here are four simple strategies to start turning your dreams into reality.

The first step to continue growing yourself is to make your dream concrete. Let’s start by asking a few questions:

What’s a dream you have?
What stops you from chasing that dream? Yourself, somebody else, resources? What would you need to make it happen?
When was the last time you discussed your dream with someone? What did you learn from that discussion? What would happen if you started talking about your dream again?
What would you do now (or tomorrow) if you knew you couldn’t fail?

The second step to start working on your dream is to identify a first step.

When you’re committed to and make a first step, your chances to be successful have just significantly improved. Those who act and start, no matter how small the first step is, achieve more.

The third step is to know why you want to start chasing the dream.

Knowing what’s not working and what needs to change is a great motivator to start moving in a different direction. Change only happens when there’s clear and explicit dissatisfaction about the status quo.

So if you’re happy with what is in your life, make sure you stay that way. But if you’re staring at your smartphone most of the day thinking what could be, you need to move.

The fourth step is to ground yourself in reality and know yourself and your context while chasing the dream.

Dreams will always be dreams if not executed.

While mindset is a big part of accomplishing your dreams, you need to put in the work to make them come through.

Grounding yourself does not mean that you talk yourself out of going for your dream. It means you’ve asked yourself which roadblocks you may encounter on your journey and how you will deal with them. Preparing yourself for setback is a crucial element of continued execution.

Once you’ve gone through these four steps, you’ve created a vision for yourself to execute your dreams and what you need to do first.

Having a concrete vision and plan is one of the five vital ingredients for exponential growth. Once you do, there’s only one thing left to do.

Start.

Erikjan